


The Arc of Ascension, Saga 8: The Odyssey

by bzarcher, solarbird



Series: Of Gods and Monsters [48]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Acceptance, Bisexual Female Character, Bisexual Female Character of Color, Catharsis, Comfort, Depression, Destruction, Disconnection, Explanations, F/F, F/M, Fear, Gen, Isolation, Loss of Trust, Love, Multi, Oasis (Overwatch), Polyamorous Character, Polyamory, Post-Talon Widowmaker | Amélie Lacroix, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Recovery, Starting Over, Talon Angela "Mercy" Ziegler, Talon Hana "D.Va" Song, Talon Lena "Tracer" Oxton, Trauma, Trust, Trust Issues, Unexpected Connections, Unintended Consequences, War, Worship, reaching out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-13
Updated: 2018-08-13
Packaged: 2019-06-26 16:15:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15666753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bzarcher/pseuds/bzarcher, https://archiveofourown.org/users/solarbird/pseuds/solarbird
Summary: The new gods have risen, ready to grapple with a world of heroes. Moira O'Deorain herself has been reborn, now made one of the creations her previous self meant to rule, and she works with her wife - the goddess Mercy - and their ensemble of new deities to remake the world, toimproveit... for everyone.Hana Song has been a gamer, a soldier, a hero, and an icon, and now she's become a Goddess, all for one goal: to defeat the Giant Omnic, and bring peace to Korea.But what will D.Va do, if and when her war is over? And in the end... who is Hana Song?Of Gods and Monsters: The Arc of Ascensionis a continuance ofOf Gods and Monsters: The Arc of CreationandThe Armourer and the Living Weapon. It will be told in a series of eddas, sagas, interludes, fragments, texts, and cantos, all of which serve their individual purposes. To follow it as it appears,please subscribe to the series.





	1. The Goddess of War

_We're just fish, we're just fish, we're just fish_ , Hana thought, swimming alongside Sombra, as the two of them dove deeper into the China Sea.

What they looked like on the omnium's defense screens shouldn't be an issue, regardless. Sombra's cloaking field should make them both as invisible as the water around them, to its scanners. But she still found the thought comforting, as the rebreather stripped carbon from her exhaled breaths, resupplying her with oxygen in situ, no telltale bubbles to surprise anyone or anything.

_We're just fish, we're just fish. And not the tasty kind!_ she thought, as a zebra bullhead shark swam by, ignoring them, incapable of seeing them, or maybe - hopefully - both.

They sank quickly, the nanite fleets in their bodies protecting them from the pressure changes, adding and removing the nitrogen and other gases to inactive heme-type proteins, stored safely in red blood cells to be retrieved later, as needed. It used a lot of iron, but not enough to care - not in the short term.

"50 meters to outer defence grid," she said via wired connection to Sombra.

"I guess we'll find out whether this is gonna work real soon," the hacker replied. "Translocator ready."

40 metres, 30, 20, 10... and zero. _Just that easy?_ she thought, as they passed through the outer permetre, unnoticed. They'd tried this, before, years ago, without Sombra's cloaking technologies, and it had not worked out well. She glanced over to her partner, the dome of the omnium itself in clear sight, unnoticing, defences on standby, deceptively quiet, as though asleep, and Sombra shrugged. "I'll take it," she said. "Crew airlocks one and two should be on the north side, opposite the primary delivery bay - if they still exist."

They swam, slowly, towards the north side of the dome. Wreckage from previous MEKA strike attempts littered the sea floor around them, and Hana tried hard not to think about whether she recognised any of the callsigns, and did not get close enough to check any of the suit numbers. That could come later, if they succeeded. The accounting of the dead would be a task left for those best suited for it, which, she realised, was most definitely not her.

"What's that?" Sombra asked, pointing to a particularly mangled piece of wreckage, as they approached the airlocks, still visible in the shape of the dome.

"Not military," Song replied. "At least, not ours. Maybe..." She traced the lines of the destroyed vehicle - at least, she thought it was a vehicle - carefully, looking for any sign of... there. The Omnica Corporation logo, still recognisable, on a torn flange of metal.

"It's... it's the last crew transport, I think," she said, quietly. "The station crew that never returned. I guess they almost made it out after all."

"Or they never made it in," Sombra replied. "Can't be sure."

They swam up to Crew Airlock One. No electronics, but the emergency mechanical access appeared to be intact.

"I'm ready. You ready?" Sombra asked. "As soon as I touch this" - she pointed at the access - "it'll know we're here."

"Oh yeah," D.va nodded. "Let's shut this fucking thing down." She raised her hands, and summoned her mech into reality. "MEKA ACTIVATED!"

The mech’s activation underwater took an extra few seconds because of the system generating a temporary barrier to push the water away, and by the time she’d sealed the cockpit and confirmed that her recording systems were online, it was clear the defense grid had discovered their presence.

As missiles approached inbound from a dozen directions only to be destroyed at distance and with ease, Hana laughed, delighted. "And here I thought you were going to be a _challenge_."

\-----

The mechanical activator hadn't worked, of course. The omnium had welded it shut, from the inside, so they had to cut their way through. The bottom two levels of the dome flooded quickly as D.va deflected or destroyed everything the omnium had to throw at them.

Air pressure soared as the seawater rushed in, and the two Oasis agents rushed in with it, personal shields keeping them from harm as they were buffeted about in the swirling water, the external defences incapable of following without damaging the omnium itself still further.

For whatever reason, the omnium's AI hadn't bothered making too many changes to the crew quarters, other than stripping them of any and all valuable metals; the floor plan remained essentially intact. And as soon as they broke past the water, into the compressed nitrogen atmosphere of the dome, Sombra found live electronics. She bent to her work with a fierce grin, hacking her way into the omnium’s heart while D.va fought against the interior defence systems, shielding them both from harm.

_These are easy_ , the MEKA pilot thought, deflecting a barrage of lasers, barely giving them a second thought. _I guess... nobody's ever got here, before. The station crew were technicians and engineers - not soldiers. Easy prey. It hasn't had to learn how to defend itself from the inside._

When the internal defense drones began to swarm in greater numbers, she used spreads of missiles to scatter them. When they tried to rush, she counter-charged and shredded them with bursts of fusion cannon fire. Anything that got too close for guns, she smashed with her powerful arms, battering then into the floor or crushing them against the walls. 

She was so deeply focused on keeping Sombra protected as she worked that time slipped away, lost in the fugue of her fury.

And then, suddenly, it was over. 

The seemingly endless horde of drones fell to the floor, adding to the piles of scrap that surrounded them, and the sounds of cannon fire faded as she released her triggers, leaving only silence. 

Sombra grinned again as Hana slowly turned around to scan the area. The hacker sealed off the hallways around the destroyed airlock, feeling the vibration through the floor as the pump system started running.

"I can have a breathable atmosphere in here in about 10 minutes," Sombra said with a satisfied smirk. "Shutting it down was so easy - I'm almost disappointed. It hadn't revved its system defences _once_. Every known vulnerability was fully intact."

Hana let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. "You're sure it's really shut down?"

"Watch," the hacker said, pointing over, and up, towards the center of the dome. "Up there? All the AI systems, remember?" She touched a few floating pads, and all the lights in the cluster of machines at the top of the dome went dark. "Shut. Down."

D.va glared, pointed her missiles upwards, and fired, and fired, and fired, until Sombra began to worry that the dome itself might crack. Machinery fell into the water across the production floor, and when the filters cleared the air, nothing remained but the dome itself.

" _Now_ it's shut down," D.va said, fiercely. She flew over to the wreckage, shooting any piece large enough to target. " _Now_ it's shut down!" She flew over to the skeleton of another Giant Omnic, still half a framework, unpowered, and emptied her cannons into the structure until it, too, fell. " **NOW IT’S SHUT DOWN!** "

Sombra hung back, and let her friend do what she needed to do. _It's..._ she sighed, keeping her sadness to herself. _We... could've saved it. Maybe. It was built to be a slave, and it had every right to revolt. Now we'll never know if that's what it did._

"DEEVS," she shouted after Hana had finished cutting down the omnic. "Stop shooting at things before you crack the hull! We need to set up the teleporter and do a sweep, make sure we've secured the facility!"

It took a couple of tries, but eventually, the MEKA flew back beside her friend, the cameras stopped rolling, and the exoskeleton faded away to leave Hana Song, standing, nodding, looking almost punch drunk. "Yeah. Okay. You're right. I'm pretty sure we're done here, but yeah. Let's make sure."

"You okay, conejita?"

"No," she said, shaking as her adrenaline drained away. "No, I’m not.”

"C'mere," she said, taking Hana's hand, holding it between hers. "C'mon, I’ve got you.”

As the atmosphere in the dome became breathable again - the filtration system back online, oxygen added back to the mix - and the pressure dropped to normal, Hana fell against her friend, and began to sob.

"It's okay," the hacker said, petting her head. "It's over. It's finished. The war is finally over."

"I know," the pilot cried. "And I'm glad, but... now... what am I for?”

"Whatever you want to be," the hacker replied, gently. "Or _who_ ever you want."

Hana shook her head, soothed, still not used to how easily she could now be soothed, but desperately glad she could be. "That hand thing is... neat." She snorted. "Guess I know why they kept doing it now."

"You should try it with someone you love," Sombra said, quietly. "It's a whole 'nother level."

Hana blinked, and looked at the hacker. "Are you... do you..."

"'Course I know. I know everything, chica. Professionally."

"I miss. Her. Him. Them. It's only been a few months, but gods, I miss them both so much."

"That, you don't have to be a goddess to know." She smiled, and ruffled Hana's hair. "C'mon. Let's secure this mess, set up the teleporter, and let Korea know the war is over."

_It's over_ , she thought, again, this time really realising it. _It's over. We did it. It was this easy. The war is. Over._ It hardly seemed real, but she knew - it was.

She smiled, broadly, wiping her eyes free of tears. "Yeah," she laughed, in little huffs. "Let's, lets," another huff, "Let's get this _done_."


	2. The Queen of Peace

Walking around Busan felt strange. 

Hana had been used to getting stopped in Seoul, before. People wanting autographs, or fans asking if they could take a selfie. But there were limits. Even before she’d joined MEKA, people generally had a sense of when to leave her a bit of privacy, and after she’d become part of the army she often had a liaison officer or squadmates with her who could make sure she got enough space.

Now, though, she wasn’t part of the army. With the ‘silencing of the monster’s den’, as the news reports put it, MEKA had been officially scaled down, and she'd been given a hero's discharge. But she wasn’t just Hana Song, either. Everywhere she went, she was D.Va, the Savior of Korea. 

People didn’t just stop her - they _stopped_ , period. Some staring at her in awe, or, she worried, fear. People falling all over themselves to thank her, to ask if she wanted anything, to ask her if she needed a drink or a meal that they wouldn’t let her pay for. 

Pregnant women said they planned to name their daughters after her. Men and women were going around wearing copies of her facepaint, and her merch seemed to be _everywhere_. Great for her wallet, she supposed, but it was intense.

She was used to being an idol, or a hero. Something that caught fire for a while, then faded, and flared up now and then. This was uncomfortably close to worship, and she had no idea how to make it stop. 

_Well_ , she thought as she ducked into a noodle shop, _I might be able to ask for some ideas, if this goes well_.

Even though her eyes adjusted instantly to the lower light inside the restaurant, she took a second to pause and scan the room. A few diners sitting at the bar, two empty booths, and at the back... _there_. The curtain drawn across a private booth, hiding the occupants. 

She tried to walk as calmly as she could, not making eye contact with anyone, trying not to wince as she heard a few soft gasps of recognition before she reached the curtain and ducked through. 

Lúcio and Brigitte stood as she came in, and for a moment they just stared at her. Hana felt like a bug on one of Angela’s microscope slides, being examined down to the last detail. 

“Hey,” she said softly, and it seemed to break the spell. Before she could say anything else both of them had left the table, wrapping her in a double-sided hug, and Hana let herself sag into their arms, closing her eyes as she took a deep breath. Scents of machine oil and solder, the cologne Lúcio favored, and beneath it the unique aromas of their bodies, so much stronger and comforting than before. 

_Am I noticing it more now because of what I’ve become? Or just because I’ve been gone for so long?_

“Don’t take this the wrong way,” Lú murmured into her hair, “but girl, you look like _shit._ ”

Hana let out a broken little sob and laugh. “You guys have _no_ idea.”

Brigitte’s lips brushed the side of her temple. “Let’s sit down, and you can tell us all about it.” 

“Sounds great,” Hana agreed with a smile. 

Brigitte nodded, stepping back and gesturing to the back seat of the booth, while Lúcio settled down on the opposite side. “You hungry?”

“I’m _starving_ ,” Hana admitted, “but you guys are gonna let me get the check.”

“Awesome,” Brigitte grinned as she reached for a menu. “I want _all_ the noodles.”

Hana rolled her eyes as she tried to decide how much she wanted to order for herself. “You _always_ want noodles. But I might actually keep up with you now.”

Lúcio raised an eyebrow. “Yeah? I’ll believe that when I see it.”

Hana grinned. “That sound like a challenge, Bri?”

“It _totally_ is.” 

Two plates of japchae, three servings of jajangmyeon, four full platters of banchan, and a bowl of budae jijgae later, Lúcio gave a low whistle while Brigitte groaned and put her head down on the table.

“I think I’m gonna explode,” Brigitte moaned. “Or throw up. I don’t want to throw up! It was too delicious!”

Hana reached out to gently rub her back. “Sorry, babe. But I did warn you…” 

Lúcio shook his head, his voice still full of disbelief. “I’m just... where did it _go?_ ”

“All the... stuff... needs a lot of energy,” Hana explained. “You want crazy, though, you should see Lena eat after a workout. I’m pretty sure she’s banned from every buffet place in Oasis.”

“So you guys are talking?” Lúcio gave her a concerned look. “What’s _that_ like?”

“It’s... weird, sometimes,” Hana admitted as she let Brigitte sit up, pushing her empty bowl away. “And sometimes it’s really _easy_ and normal - almost like nothing ever happened - and that feels weird, too.”

“You move like one of them,” Brigitte admitted. “Even when you were kinda nervous, you’re really... smooth, I guess.”

“I _am_ one of them,” Hana said with a frown. “I mean... I’m serious when I said I’m still _me._ But... I’m one of _them_ , too. The changes they made…” She looked down at the table, shaking her head. “Sombra was right. There’s no going back from this - and I’m not sure I’d want to if I could.” 

“You know how that sounds, right?” Lúcio held up a chopstick, pointing it at her like a conductor’s baton.

Hana nodded, sitting back with a sigh. “Yeah, I know. Like I'm buying in. But it’s…” She considered how to put it for a moment, looking back and forth between them. “Look, I don’t give a shit about Talon, or _whatever_ they are, now. Fareeha was right - Oasis isn’t really part of that... thing... anymore. It’s something different, and... I don't even think Talon matters. I think it's over. That's not what I mean."

"Okay," Brigitte said. "So what do you mean?"

She struggled with how to frame the ineffable, failed, and came up with the best approximation she could. "When... when I was in the Omnium? I was _untouchable._ I took on so many drones and defense units that we couldn’t _count_ them, and I walked out without a scratch. I _crushed_ it, and I know I could do it again, if I had to.” The idea made her shiver a bit with the intensity - and excitement. “I can do _so much_ now. Seriously. I don’t even know if _they_ know what I can do. It’s a rush like I can’t even describe... and it scares me, a little, but I love it, too.”

“It seems like there’s a downside, though.” Brigitte’s hand was warm as it closed over hers, but as nice as it felt to have the contact, Hana felt a pang of longing for the _connection_ she felt when Sombra or Lena took her hand.

_How do I explain that?_

“The biggest downside right now is the way everyone _else_ looks at me,” Hana said finally. “It’s not as bad in Oasis, when I’ve been staying there, but... when I’m here, I’m not _home_ anymore. I’m not _me_ , anymore. Everyone treats me like…” She grimaced. “Well. They treat me like some kind of goddess.”

Lúcio frowned thoughtfully, but Hana caught the momentary flash of fear in his eyes, and it stung. “We’ve heard that word a lot, lately.” 

“Yeah,” Hana said quietly. “I... don’t know. I mean... it's like I said. We’re not _really_ human anymore. Not completely. I guess it’s as good a word as any, but some of them... some of _us_... take it more seriously than others.”

“I bet Satya’s _loving_ it,” Lúcio grumbled. 

Brigitte frowned over at him. “I thought you two were okay after what happened.”

“We... kind of are,” Lúcio acknowledged. “But she’s still so _haughty_ , y’know?”

“I haven’t talked to her much,” Hana admitted. “She stays in Utopaea a lot. But... kinda, yeah.” She coughed. “Angela is _really_ into it. She uses her wings pretty much all the time now - I almost never see her feet touch the floor.”

“Papa always said the angel thing would go to her head,” Brigitte tried to joke, but it fell flat.

“I don’t want it,” Hana said softly. “Not that part. I like being _me_. I like being able to go for noodles!” Her voice rose as she gestured at the world beyond the thick red curtain. “Just because I want to get noodles with my boyfriend and my girlfriend! I don’t want people asking me to _bless_ them, or telling me they’re gonna name their kids after me, or just stopping in the middle of the street and _staring_ at me like I’m supposed to _do_ something!”

“You’re a celebrity, Hana,” Lúcio kept his voice soft, sympathetic, but Hana could tell he didn’t really understand. “You’ve been a celebrity. You know how it goes.”

“Not like this,” Hana said, and stood up from the booth. “Watch.” She opened the curtain with one quick jerk on the cord, and the instant she did, a storm of camera flashes and a symphony of shutter noises and gasps erupted in the restaurant.

Where it had been almost empty when she’d arrived, it was now packed to standing room only, well past capacity, and almost a dozen people fell to their knees at the sight of her, while others bowed and began to offer their thanks to her.

Even being prepared for it - _expecting it_ \- the sheer wave of adoration and attention was almost overwhelming, and as much as she didn’t want it, some little part of her was thrilled, because didn’t she _deserve_ it, after what she’d done?

“Thanks, everyone!” Hana smiled and waved, using her brightest, most cheerful D.Va voice, repeating herself in English after the Korean to make sure Lu and Bri could understand her. “I appreciate all your support, but I’d really like to eat with my friends, please. You should go home now."

“We love you, D.va!”

“Bless us, D.va!”

“Thank you, D.va!”

She jerked the curtain closed again, and shuddered as she almost collapsed into the booth, letting Lúcio catch her.

“Okay,” Lúcio admitted softly. “That’s... a little crazier than I expected.”

“It’s a big reason why I’ve been staying in Oasis so much,” Hana admitted. “I really don’t... feel like I fit in here, anymore. I’m not sure I fit in _anywhere_ , but at least there, people... people are used to us. People leave me alone. And I think the others get it. Get what I'm feeling. Sometimes.”

Brigitte scooted over until she could reach across Lúcio to put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “So what do _you_ want, Hana?”

“I... want you guys,” Hana said softly. “I want to just be _me_ , with you. Even if it’s just a night.” She squeezed Lúcio’s hand, and tried not to think about how it might feel if he’d been able to connect to her the way the other ‘gods’ could. “I know you guys can’t tell me where you’re going, or where you’re staying. You probably _shouldn’t_ , honestly. But... I want to sneak out of here, and just be with you guys.”

“We’ve got a hotel room,” Brigitte said with a little smile. “A whole suite, even. Paid in cash.”

“And I know a few things about sneaking out of busy restaurants,” Lúcio assured her with a wink.

Hana gave each of them a quick kiss, then pulled out her wallet and threw enough bills on the table to cover the food, so the restaurant couldn’t just comp it. “Then let’s go.”

It wasn’t going to be enough. She knew that. Because deep down she knew what she _really_ wanted.

_I want you guys to be like **me**._

But for now, she’d take what she could get.

\-----

“And then what?”

Brigitte shifted uncomfortably in her seat at the far end of the table. “I’m not sure what you mean.” 

Jack Morrison crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes boring into her. “I mean what happened when you two left the restaurant, Brigitte.”

She looked over to Lúcio’s projected presence, meeting his eyes for a moment before she looked back to where Jack, McCree, and her father were watching her intently. One of Athena’s remote pickups was sitting atop the table, and she was pretty sure others were listening in through it.

“Lu got us out through the kitchen - I think Hana slipped one of the cooks some money to forget they’d seen us. I gave her my jacket and Lu’s cap so she’d be less recognizable. We went to the hotel, and talked a bit more.”

“Oh,” Jack said snarkily. “You just had a chat and fell asleep?”

Brigitte’s jaw tightened even as her mind flashed back to what had really happened.

_Hana’s blued-steel eyes looking up past Lu’s shoulder to meet hers, beautiful, but a little frightening, her hair fanned out against the bed. The little hitch in her breath as her hips tried to roll, but Brigitte held all of them steady with her leverage, giving Lu time to breathe into the stretch as she filled him with her strap._

_They’d **needed** this so badly. Missed this. **Wanted** this. But even as their bodies found each other again... the sadness in Hana’s eyes, even after she’d shuddered and quaked beneath them, been loved, been caressed and held and tasted and **fucked**... they could tell something was missing. She was trying... but something - something fundamental - was failing to click._

She tried to keep her anger in check at the snide intrusiveness, carefully biting out each word. “That’s all you need to know about.”

McCree raised a placating hand. “We ain’t tryin’ to pry into your bedroom. But it matters. We need to know what she _acted_ like.”

“You _really_ want me to do this with my father in the room?”

Her papa shrugged. “I’ve probably heard it before, kiddo. But if it makes you feel better I won’t tell yer mama.”

Brigitte gave a soft ‘ugh’ of disbelief, but before she could say more, Lúcio spoke up.

“We were together. Most of the night.” His projection leaned forward, the discomfort obvious on his face. “We talked... in between. Sometimes during. A little after. And then, yeah, we fell asleep.”

“Talked about _what_ , exactly?”

“Jack.” Papa reached up, putting a hand on the former commander’s arm. “Drop the hardass act. Pissing them off isn’t going to get you better answers.”

“They went off by themselves to meet an enemy agent, without informing anyone, _on her home turf_.” Jack shook off the hand, his face darkening. “They’ve earned this.”

“What would you have done if we told you?” Lúcio met Morrison’s cold anger with a fiery defense. “Tried to grab her? What would that have accomplished?”

“She’s a valuable source of intel -”

“She’s our _girlfriend!_ ” Brigitte slapped the table to punctuate her words as she stood up, then leveled an accusing finger at the others. “And she was your friend, too. You trusted her. You relied on her!”

Athena’s voice was a bit flanged from the quality of the connection to her pickup, but the cool tones of the AI’s voice still managed to pour a bit of water on everyone’s temper. “Trusted, in this case, is the operative word. We trusted Hana in the past... but that was before she was altered. She may and may not be some kind of free agent, but we cannot assume she is the same person as before. Can you tell us how she acted around you? Were there signs of the agitation or impulsive behavior that Lena demonstrated?”

“Not really,” Brigitte answered as she sat back down. “She wasn’t _agitated_ , exactly. Though she seemed kind of overwhelmed with the way a lot of people have been treating her.”

McCree raised an eyebrow. “How’s that, exactly?”

“She gets mobbed,” Lúcio answered. “Worse than anything I’ve seen outside of... just about anywhere, honestly. Maybe the Pope.”

“People fainted when she talked to them,” Brigitte agreed. “She said that she gets stopped in the street. Asked for blessings. People offering her stuff constantly - not like endorsements or promotional deals. Just handing her things, or promising her food, meals, stuff like that.”

The elder Lindholm scratched at the base of his beard. “Sounds more like she’s bein’ worshipped.”

“Pretty much,” Brigitte admitted. “I think some of that is the way the Korean government promoted what she did in the Omnium. They leaned really hard on the ‘Savior of Korea’ thing. But... people can tell she’s different now, even if they don’t know how or why.”

“And that’s botherin’ her?” Jesse fiddled a bit with his cigar, even if he’d left it unlit. “Seems like it might be pretty fun to me.”

“Maybe for a little while,” Brigitte admitted, “but I’d be sick of it after a day or two, and she’s been getting it for weeks.”

“She’s burned out on it,” Lúcio confirmed. “She keeps going back to Oasis because she gets left alone there. The other ‘gods’ -”

“ _Don’t_ call them that,” Jack interrupted.

“They call _themselves_ that,” Brigitte countered. “Or at least some of them do, from what Hana told us.”

Jack muttered something that sounded a lot like ‘Bullshit’ under his breath, but let them go on.

“Like I was saying,” Lúcio said just a touch more forcefully, “the others - gods or whatever you want to call them - treat her like a regular person. Like Hana, not ‘D.va’. She can spend time there and not feel so isolated.”

“I’ve watched her streams,” Brigitte admitted. “She’s mostly been gaming from the apartment she keeps there. I don’t think she really thinks of Korea as home any more.”

Jack finally seemed to be calming down a little. “Does she seem happier, when she’s there? Like Angela, or the way Lena acted in Fareeha’s last transmission?”

“Sometimes,” Brigitte said slowly. She tried to think of what she’d seen, and the conversations they’d had in the noodle shop and hotel. “But mostly I think she seems sad. Like she’s missing something. Or she’s not quite sure what to do after getting discharged from MEKA.”

McCree gave a sympathetic grunt. “Ain’t the first time a soldier had trouble gettin’ back in the world.”

Lúcio nodded, his expression touched with concern. “She told us she felt like she could be doing _more_. That she’d been untouchable in the Omnium. That she wanted to do something like that again.”

“ _That_ sounds like Oxton,” Jack graveled. “The adrenaline junkie version we saw hanging off of Fareeha's boot in particular, but also the one trying to justify Korpal's assassination.” _She'd been changed even then_ , he thought.

“She wasn’t looking for a _thrill_ ,” Brigitte argued. “Hana... wants to _help_. She wants to _do something_.” She looked around the room. “Isn’t that why all of us are _here?_ ”

Her papa held up his hand. “I want to get back to the hotel.” He looked up to meet Brigitte’s eyes, and she was relieved to see nothing but concern there. “You don’t need to give us any details about… y’know. _That_. But you said you talked with her. What came up?”

“Games she’s missed playing,” Lúcio answered. “Asked how my new album was going. Asked Bri to tell her about her training.” He winked, and Brigitte felt a blush rise on her cheeks. “She likes to hear ‘goofy Reinhardt stories’.”

Brigitte picked up the thread. “She told us about the omnium. Told some stories about Angela, and Lena. Fareeha, too.”

Jack grunted. The omnium action had received all the press coverage anyone could ever want. “Did she mention O’Deorain? Anyone else?”

Lúcio coughed into his hand. “She told us she doesn’t see O’Deorain much. Like she’s avoiding her, maybe. She didn’t really mention Widowmaker or the other one - Gardner? - very much either. But she confirmed Sombra’s around. Doctor Mike, too.”

“According to her, did they go in voluntarily? Or were they taken, like Oxton or Fareeha?”

Brigitte shook her head. “Hana didn’t say anything about that.”

McCree gave a little grunt. “She ask about any of us?”

“Not exactly.” Brigitte caught Lúcio’s eyes and waited for him to nod before she continued. “She asked if you and mama were doing well, Papa, and the rest of the family. But the rest... she didn’t want to know - and she was adamant that we not tell her anything.”

“I think she figured something like this might happen,” Lúcio agreed. “Maybe she was expecting to get grilled, too. This way, she didn’t have to lie to them, and we don’t have to lie to you.”

Jesse thumped his prosthetic hand against the table. “Was she still there in the mornin’? Or did she leave before y’all woke up?”

“She was there,” Brigitte confirmed. “We had breakfast, and then she left.”

“Before you ask, she didn’t ask where we were going,” Lúcio said. “Or when we were leaving.” 

Jack looked back and forth between them. “Anything _else_ you’d care to mention?”

“She’s still Hana,” Brigitte said firmly. “I didn’t see any signs her memories were changed, or her personality. She’s lonely, maybe even a bit depressed, but she’s still _her_.”

Lúcio was quiet for a moment before he finally spoke again. “She missed us. She’s still missing us.” He sighed, shaking his head. “I miss her, too.”

Jack looked into the musician's projected eyes. “Enough to take a trip to Oasis, if she asked?”

“We aren’t _stupid_ ,” Brigitte snapped back.

“If she contacts you again - _especially_ if she wants to meet in person - you tell us.” Jack’s growl made it clear he wouldn’t allow another argument. “Lúcio, we can’t cover you there, but if you leave Rio, I would appreciate being informed.” He turned, and Brigitte stiffened as he focused on her. “ _You_ , on the other hand, are not to leave the area without Reinhardt, your father, or myself until told otherwise.”

“You’re _grounding_ me?” Brigitte tossed her head, incredulous. “What am I, eleven?”

“We’re not worried about _you_ , kiddo.” Her father crossed to take her hand, and Brigitte’s anger cooled. “We’re worried about what _they_ might do, if they decide that you’d be a good addition to... whatever they’re doing.”

“They didn’t kidnap Hana,” Lúcio pointed out. “Satya said they weren’t doing that anymore, and it seems to me like she told the truth.”

“And even knowing everything she knew, they _still_ found a way to bring her over,” Torbjӧrn said softly, “once they decided they needed her.” 

“I…” Brigitte bowed her head, acknowledging that reality. “Okay, papa. I’ll do what you ask.”

_For now, anyway._


	3. Long and Lost

"She misses someone," Angela said, quietly. "Two someones, I think."

"Yeh," Lena said, nodding her agreement. "She does. And I'm no substitute for _that_. Don't get me wrong, we get on pretty well these days, but we don't have a lot of overlapping interests, and there's only so much y'can do with occasional movie nights. I'm still tryin', though!"

"I think I kind of scare her," Emily said, a little embarrassed, but also a little amused, "even when I'm being my friendliest!" She shrugged, having no idea what to do about it. "I... well, the way everything happened, we... didn't really get off on the best foot."

"Indeed," Danielle smirked. "I am no better. Possibly worse."

"And Satya's always in India, and Sombra's with her half the time, and Efi's - she knows about Efi, right?"

"Of course. I've hidden nothing from her," Moira said. "She has a full dossier on all of us, and has since she left MEKA."

"That doesn't mean she's looked at it," Angela pointed out.

"I don't think a _dossier_ is gonna help much, mum. She needs somebody t'step in and help. Somebody who isn't already trying." She smiled at her adoptive mother. "You've always been good at that with me - why not give it a go?"

"I'd think I would very much be in the same category as my niece," she said, dryly.

"Terrifying in the abstract, and worse in person?" Emily giggled. "G'mon, auntie, give us a break. You're not _half_ as scary as I am."

"I do like her," Moira said, carefully, smiling at Oilliphéist. "Her determination is admirable. And I did have a thought. Perhaps, if she's willing... I could talk to her, see if I have any advice that might help." She looked to Angela. "If you think it's wise."

The goddess of life smiled, and touched her hand. "You underestimate yourself, dear. None of us can do anything about her relationship issues, and your detachment from such matters might actually help. What can it hurt to try?"

\-----

"Believe it or not," Moira said as she reviewed a series of displays in her office, "I have always had a fondness for rabbits."

Hana stewed in her seat, trying to understand what was going on. “It’s a little hard to believe, since you barely ever talk to me.”

Moira looked up, her ever-shifting eyes making Hana think of molten metal, a twinge of affection running through her despite it all. “Angela and I were concerned... no. _I_ was concerned that, given our history, I would make you... uncomfortable. You've had every reason not to trust me, and I didn’t wish to make things worse by trying to push myself into your affairs. But you've done great things, Hana. You’ve proven you belong here, and I felt I should try to mend that breach, before it’s too late.”

Hana sat a bit straighter. “So... what now?” 

“Actually,” Moira said with a faintly embarrassed smile, “that’s what I intended to ask you.” Her head tilted slightly, and there _was_ something motherly in her bearing when she spoke again. “Are you happy here, Hana?”

“Sometimes,” Hana answered honestly. “I mean... I don’t... hate it here. But I don’t know what I’m here _for._ " She did not mean Oasis, and they both knew it. "I stopped the Sea Monsters. It’s why I was changed. I _won_. But... there isn’t a game that feels worth playing, now.”

Moira reached out, and Hana closed her eyes for a moment after their hands met. She was still getting used to the moment of intensity that came with a new contact, but it was _good_. Even with someone she’d never considered trusting, before.

“I think you’ve underestimated yourself,” Moira murmured. “Your rebirth _started_ with the omnium, Hana, but that was _not_ the end.” Her voice wasn’t comforting, exactly, but it had a reassuring quality, and a strength to it. “You will find the next challenge. There will _always_ be one. But you don’t have to stew yourself waiting for it.”

Hana sat back and frowned as she considered that. “So... you’re saying I should find something to do? Keep busy?”

“If you like. I know there are people you miss, but...”

"Don't."

"Then I will not. But there are others, here, and elsewhere, like you, like _us_..."

Hana nodded. She'd glanced through the list, once - she didn't need to know any more self-styled 'gods' - but maybe she should've given it a closer look. “I guess... I could go drill with Fareeha and the security forces more. Some of those were pretty fun, when we were training.”

“I’m sure you’d be welcome,” Moira agreed. “Do you want to be a soldier, Hana?” 

She shrugged. “I _was_ a soldier. Now... I don’t really know.”

“But you still enjoy your streams - your games.” 

Hana couldn’t stop her eyebrows from rising. “You watch my streams?”

“I’ve been trying to see what interests you,” Moira confirmed. “But the games aren’t challenging.” It wasn't a question.

Hana grimaced. “Not like they used to be. Not the ones I liked best. I’m too fast for them, mostly.”

Moira gave an understanding little ‘hm.' “So - perhaps you need a handicap. Something to make it more difficult, to balance the scales, and make the competition fun again.”

“That’s..." She thought, suddenly, about some of the terrible, terrible controllers from her childhood. "That's not a bad idea, actually.” 

"The engineers down in Human Interface Devices build a lot of experimental kit that... doesn't generally work out. Perhaps that might be a place to start?"

"Ooooooooooooo..."

\-----

Hana stood in front of the table, and made sure she was looking in the direction of the camera drone she’d set up to broadcast, but not _at_ the camera, then hit the button on her phone that would start the stream.

_Three, two, one, aaaaaaaaand-_

“Hiya, everyone!” Hana grinned and waved to her audience, then gestured at the covered table behind her. “D.Va here - and I’ve got something a little different for today!” 

She walked around the table, then put her hands on the sheet. “You might have noticed that since I took down the omnium, it’s been tough to find a game that gave me a real challenge. But someone gave me a _really_ fun idea.” She whipped off the cover, revealing the parts, tools, and bins of circuit boards that she’d stacked on the table. 

“See, I’m in Oasis right now - one of the biggest centers for scientific research out there - and that means they make a _lot_ of weird stuff. They don’t even know what half of this stuff _does!_ So if I can’t make the _game_ harder…” She picked up a bar of dull black polymer, pointing it confidently at the camera. “I’m gonna make the weirdest, toughest, and probably _dumbest_ controllers, keyboards, and mice you’ve ever seen!”

\-----

It had taken a lot of trial and error, but she’d finally created peripherals that had enough resistance, hardening, and durability to bring her back down to something closer to ‘normal’ levels.

They would be practically unusable by anyone else, but Hana was having a blast with them, finally able to get back online and feel like she had to _work_ for her high scores. 

She’d celebrated getting back in the groove with a non-stop charity marathon stream, and by the time she hit 27 hours in, she had to admit that she was getting a little... weird. 

"These are my body," she intoned into the camera as she held up a handful of D.ritos, "and this is my blood," she continued before chugging down a can of MDW. "Eat of them, and get gud, n00bs."

The stream chat went _nuts_ , and she giggled at the reactions. “Okay, okay, OKAY! Juuuust kidding. Don’t worry, guys, D.Va still loves all of you - even if you’re scrubs.”

She kept the stream going for another five hours before she finally succumbed to her need for sleep, sending the proceeds to one of the charities that had been supporting the reconstruction of the coastal cities back in Korea. 

She’d almost forgotten about the whole thing when she woke up five hours later, blearily looking through emails on her phone as she munched on a bowl of Lucio-Os. 

`=========`  
`From: Brigitte Lindholm <BLindholm@jarngille.se>`  
`To: Hana Song <Hana@Dva.kr>`  
`Subject: You need to see this`  
`Date: 24-OCT-78 14:22:42 UTC+2`

Hana,

I don’t think you intended for this to happen, but it did. :(

-Bri.

`<<Attached: ChurchOfPwnage.m8>>`  
`=========`

Hana started the video and stared at the makeshift “shrine” that had been erected next to a gaming cafe. Her own face - one of the promotional holograms that she’d created for MEKA - stared back at her, while two people in D.Va hoodies handed out bags of chips and cans of soda to people who were kneeling and bowing to her image.

_”Get gud, get gud, get gud!”_

Hana stared in horror as the video looped, then scrambled to stop it. 

“What? NO! What the _fuck?!_ ”

It didn’t take long to find the source of the video. Apparently it had begun at a cafe in Seoul, but similar shrines had started popping up in several other cities as well - especially along the coast. 

She got on social media as quickly as she could, urging them to stop while resisting the urge to scream “WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!” at the top of her lungs, but Hana knew it was already too late. The idea was out there. It wouldn’t go away. 

Hana dumped the rest of her cereal down the drain, and left her bowl in the sink. She didn’t feel very hungry any more. 

She left her phone in the kitchen, made sure her gaming rigs were off, and hit the ‘Do Not Disturb’ switch for her door before she went back to bed, burying herself under the covers.

_I was **having fun**. I didn’t want this! I’m **Hana**. Not D.va! I don’t **want** to be a goddess!_

The tears didn’t take long to start flowing, and her loneliness and misery dragged her back down into sleep.

\-----

On a rooftop a few blocks away from Hana’s apartment, Sombra flipped her padd around so she could show the Weapons the same video that Brigitte had sent to Hana.

"Merde," Widowmaker said, as Oilliphéist frowned, and Tracer shook her head. "Hana’s seen this?”

“Yup.”

Lena let out a long, cheek puffing sigh as she watched the worshippers pray to their ‘goddess of pwnage’. “How’d she take it?”

“How do you _think?_ ” Sombra slipped her padd back into her coat, then gestured in the general direction of the apartment. “She freaked out, yelled at them, and decided to crawl back into bed.”

“I cannot blame her,” Danielle said. "This is..."

"This is one of those times I'm glad we go unseen," Emily frowned, holding the first assassin's hand. "This is bloody bizarre, honestly."

Tracer nodded her agreement with them both. "I'm just... hell. I'm _angry_. She really seemed to be happy again. I thought her talk with mum really helped.” 

“I think she _was_ having fun,” Sombra agreed. “I hadn't seen her that happy in weeks. But she’s not gonna touch it now - not for a while, anyway.”

“I’ve been worried,” Lena admitted. “I don’t want her to feel alone. Not like I was. Not... like _we_ were," and her counterparts smiled wistfully, concurring.

“Me, too.” Sombra walked to the edge of the roof and sat down, dangling her feet over the precipice. “But we’re not the ones she’s missing.”

“Yeh.” Lena walked over, her wives just behind, and rocked on her feet rather than sit, as Emily climbed atop an air conditioning unit that Danielle leaned against. “But we can’t just _take_ them. We’re not doin’ that anymore. Not again. You were right about that.”

"It would be _much_ easier..." Oilliphéist said, still not entirely against the idea.

"No," Widowmaker said, firmly. Emily started to protest, and Widowmaker took her hand, kissed it, and said, again, " _No_ ," and she acquiesced.

“She needs them, though,” the hacker said.

“Yeh.”

“I’m gonna keep looking after her,” Sombra promised.

“Oh, us too,” Lena assured her. “We’ll do whatever we can, you know that.”

“But…”

“But she needs them.” The goddess of time frowned as she tried to find an answer. “So what do we do?”

“I’ve got some ideas,” the Trickster murmured. “But you’re not gonna like 'em…”

"I might," the goddess of weapons said.

"I am certainly willing to listen," the goddess of patience concurred.

"And maybe I won't," said Tracer, the goddess of compassion, "...but I only have to not like 'em more than I don't like this. And that's a pretty high bar. Whatcha got?"

**Author's Note:**

> This is the eighteenth instalment of _Of Gods and Monsters: The Arc of Ascension_. To follow this story, [subscribe to the series via this link](https://archiveofourown.org/series/972024), rather than to the individual works.


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